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Portal:Current events/2020 February 28

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present)
  • Turkey calls for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria. (Yeni Safak)
  • NATO holds an emergency meeting after Turkey formally triggers Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. (Euronews)
  • Russia deploys its Admiral Makarov and Admiral Grigorovich warships carrying Kalibr cruise missiles to the Eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coast. (Reuters) (The Moscow Times)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • Nigeria, Belarus, New Zealand and Lithuania confirm their first case of coronavirus. (BNO News)

International relations

• Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present), European migrant crisis
  • Nearly 300 migrants including Syrians arrived in Edirne province, Turkey on the border with Greece in a bid to go to Europe. Another group of migrants arrived on the coast of Ayvacik in Canakkale, western Turkey, and wanted to go to the Greek island of Lesbos by boats. Turkish officials announced that the security forces will not intervene to prevent the crossing of any migrants, including those from Syria and other countries like Afghanistan and Iran. (France 24) (Daily Sabah)

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Portal:Current events/2020 February 27

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  • Syrian opposition groups backed by Turkey recapture the strategic city of Saraqib, lift the siege on four Turkish observation points and cut the M5 highway. (SOHR) (Xinhua)
  • A Turkish sniper kills a Syrian lieutenant colonel in Syria's Tell Abyad countryside. (SOHR)
  • Three Turkish soldiers are killed in Syrian Army attacks in Idlib, bringing the number of Turkish soldiers killed in Syria to 21. (The Jerusalem Post)
  • 36 Syrian Army troops and 25 Turkish-backed rebels are killed bringing the total death toll in Idlib since December to 1,186 opposition fighters and 1,136 Syrian Goverment soldiers. (SOHR)
  • An airstrike kills at least 33 Turkish troops and injures 39 others in Jabal Zawiya, Idlib Governorate. (Daily Sabah) (BBC)
  • Turkey says it has neutralized 1,709 Syrian Government elements in Idlib since 10 February 2020 and that it has destroyed 55 tanks, 3 helicopters, 18 armored vehicles, 29 howitzers, 21 military vehicles, 4 Docka anti-aircraft guns, 6 ammunition depots, and 7 mortars in the operations.(Anadolu Agency)
  • Turkey opens its border with Syria and allows Syrian refugees free passage to Europe effective immediately for the next 72 hours.(Middle East Eye)
  • Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hold talks amid the escalation in Idlib with Syria and Russia. (AP)
  • Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are blocked in Turkey, while YouTube and WhatsApp are partially restricted. It is understood that the measures are intended to protect details surrounding troop and equipment deployments. (Netblocks)
  • US republican senator and ally of US President Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham calls for an establishment of a no-fly zone over Idlib.(The Guardian)
• A cyber attack in Australia forces the cancellation of wool sales across the country. (ABC AU)

Business and economy

• Socio-economic impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average enters correction territory after plunging 700 points at opening. (USA Today)
  • Markets are on pace for their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. (Market Watch)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Iran
    • Vice President for Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar is infected with the novel coronavirus. (Washington Post)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
    • 236 more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number to 655. Five more virus-related deaths are confirmed, bringing the death toll in the country to seventeen. Forty-five people recovered from the disease. (La Repubblica)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United States
    • A woman is diagnosed with the coronavirus after a possible person-to-person transmission. It would be the first case of transmission in the United States with no known contacts to overseas cases. (NBC)
  • Saudi Arabia temporarily suspends entry to the kingdom for the Umrah Islamic pilgrimage and visits to al Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina due to fears over the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus. (Reuters)
  • Saudi Arabia blocks all foreign pilgrims from entering the country. This block happens just before the Ramadan fasting. (ABC AU)
  • Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe announces that all junior and high schools will be asked to close from March 2 until their upcoming spring break to help fight the coronavirus outbreak. (Reuters)
  • Estonia confirms their first case. (Al Jazeera)
  • Greece confirms its second and third cases and cancels all carnival-related events.(Reuters)
  • The first case in San Marino is confirmed. (Alta Rimini)
• The decision to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport is found to be unlawful by the Court of Appeal because the British government did not take into account its commitments under the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. (BBC)

International relations

• European migrant crisis
  • A senior Turkish official tells Reuters that Turkey "will no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe". (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Astronomers discover the largest known explosion ever in the history of the Universe, which occurred in the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster. It replaces MS 0735.6+7421. As space and ground telescopes that study radio emissions improve (which are better than X-ray observations for detecting these), more similar explosions, or "giant radio fossils", may be found. (Phys) (CNN) (Astrophysics via arXiv at Cornell University)

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Portal:Current events/2020 February 26

Armed conflicts and attacks

• North East Delhi riots
  • Violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim protesters over the Citizenship Amendment Act continue in North East Delhi, India, leaving 27 people dead and at least 180 injured. (NDTV)
• Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  • Turkey's MoD says two Turkish troops were killed in an airstrike in Syria's Idlib Governorate. (Middle East Monitor)
  • Turkey's MoD claims 114 Syrian Army troops were "neutralized" in retaliation, and an air defense system, a ZU-23-2 AA gun, an antitank weapon, 3 Tanks, an ammunition vehicle and 2 engineering vehicles were destroyed, and that 3 tanks were captured. (Aksam)

Arts and culture

• Bob Weighton, aged 111, of Alton, Hampshire, England, is named the oldest living man in the world after the death of Chitetsu Watanabe of Japan at the age of 112. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
    • 102 more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number to 424. Another virus-related death is confirmed, bringing the death toll in the country to 12. (Sky Tg24)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United States
    • In California, San Francisco declares a public emergency. Santa Clara and San Diego counties have made similar declarations. (News AU)
  • The first case in Latin America is confirmed by the Ministry of Health of Brazil in São Paulo. (Al Jazeera)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Greece
    • Greece confirms its first case in Thessaloniki. (Reuters)
  • Romania and Georgia reports their first cases. (Reuters) (Reuters)
  • A 62-year-old man in Seville becomes the first non imported infected case of coronavirus in Spain. (La Vanguardia)

Law and crime

• Six prisoners are shot dead by Papua New Guinea Police as they escape from prison in Western Highlands Province. They were among 100 inmates who escaped during a mass breakout. Scores of others are captured. (RNZ)
• Germany repeals its 2015 ban on advertisements for professional assisted suicide practices, after finding that its prohibition violated the German Constitution. Passive human euthanasia itself has been legal in the republic since 2014. (BBC)
• Milwaukee brewery shooting
  • Six people, including the shooter, are killed in a mass shooting at the Molson Coors Beverage Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The perpetrator, who committed suicide, was an employee who was fired earlier in the day. (USA Today) (WGN-TV)
• The re-election campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump files a libel suit against The New York Times over a 2019 editorial piece that accused the Trump campaign of striking a deal with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • The Spanish and Catalan government meets for the first time after breaking the talks one year ago in the named "Dialogue Board" as a way to solve the constitutional and political crisis between both governments that erupted in 2017. (La Vanguardia)
• Lynching in the United States
  • The U.S. House of Representatives votes 410–4 to pass the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which designates lynching a federal crime. This is the first time that anti-lynching legislation has ever passed Congress. (NPR)

Science and technology

• Astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, United States, say an object known as has been captured by Earth's gravitational field and has been in orbit since 2017, becoming a temporary natural satellite of Earth. The Minor Planet Center confirms the findings and says "no link to a known artificial object has been found", implying the object is an asteroid. (New Scientist)

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Portal:Current events/2020 February 25

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Somali Civil War (2009–present)
  • A U.S. airstrike kills an employee of the telecoms Hormuud Telecom. It was aimed at Al-Shabaab in Jilib, Middle Juba. (Reuters)
• Syrian civil war, Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present), Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  • As fighting continues in the Idlib Governorate, the Syrian Army takes control of rebel-stronghold Kafranbel for the first time since 2012, and 18 nearby villages including Sheikh Dames and Sheikh Mustafa. (RFI)
  • Turkish-backed rebels recapture the village of Nayrab, west of Saraqib, after days of heavy fighting which has left dozens dead, according to Turkish state media. (Al Jazeera)
• Turkish military intervention in the Second Libyan Civil War
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirms the first Turkish Armed Forces casualties in Libya since beginning a military operation in support of the GNA government after two troops are killed. (BBC)
• North East Delhi riots
  • Violent clashes in North East Delhi, India, between Hindu and Muslim protesters over the Citizenship Amendment Act continues leaving 13 people dead and at least 150 injured. (NDTV)

Business and economy

• Steve Hasker, former company president of American data firm Nielsen Holdings, is appointed CEO of Thomson Reuters effective March 15. (Reuters) (The Wall Street Journal)
• Bob Iger steps down as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and is succeeded by Bob Chapek, former chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Iger will continue to serve the company's "creative endeavors" as executive chairman. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
    • 93 more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number to 322. Four more virus-related deaths are confirmed, bringing the death toll to eleven. (Agenzia ANSA)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Austria
    • Two people from Lombardy, Italy, living in Austria's state of Tyrol, test positive for coronavirus. (The Guardian)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Croatia
    • Croatia confirms its first case of coronavirus. The patient had stayed in Milan, Italy, from 19 to 21 February, and was hospitalised in Zagreb, Croatia. (The Guardian)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Iran
    • Iran's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, tests positive for coronavirus. (CNA)
    • A member of the Iranian Parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi, states on Twitter that he has been infected with the virus. (New York Times via MSN News)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Spain
    • Hundreds of guests are locked down in a hotel in Tenerife, Spain, after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for the virus. (BBC)
    • The first case on the peninsula and the fourth in the country is confirmed in Barcelona, Catalonia. The wife of the Italian doctor becomes the fifth infected in Spain. A sixth case is reported in Villarreal. (La Vanguardia)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Switzerland
    • Switzerland confirms its first case of coronavirus: a case in Ticino, on the border with Italy. (The Guardian)
  • Algeria confirms its first case of the coronavirus. The patient is an Italian man who arrived in the country a week ago. (Africa Times)
  • Canada's largest airline Air Canada suspends all flights to China until April in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. (CBC)

International relations

• China–Sweden relations
  • The Swedish Foreign Ministry summons the Chinese ambassador after the Chinese government sentences bookseller and Swedish citizen Gui Minhai to ten years in prison for espionage. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• A man was revealed to have been arrested the previous day for attempting to blow up a car in The Pentagon parking lot. (NBC)
• Aimee Anne Duffy, a Welsh singer who goes by Duffy, reveals she was raped, drugged and held hostage over some days resulting in her disappearance from the limelight in recent years. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

• German Health Minister Jens Spahn declines to run for leadership of the ruling Christian Democratic Union party, and endorses North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Armin Laschet for the position. (Reuters)
• The Saudi government appoints former energy minister Khalid A. Al-Falih to head a new investment ministry replacing the General Investment Authority, and sacks the media minister, among other changes to the cabinet. (Reuters)
• Former Liberal Democrats leader David Steel resigns from the party and announces he will leave the UK House of Lords after a report accused him of “abdicat[ing] his responsibility” when he supported the knighthood of former party whip Cyril Smith, who is accused of child molestation. (The Guardian)

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Portal:Current events/2020 February 24

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Volkmarsen ramming attack
  • Nearly 60 people are injured when a car rams civilians at a carnival parade in Volkmarsen, Hesse, Germany. A 29-year-old German national is arrested by police. (BBC)
• Gaza–Israel conflict, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens the leadership of the Gaza Strip with war if rocket attacks continue. (News AU)
• Libyan Civil War (2014–present), Libyan peace process
  • Both of Libya's rival governments, the Government of National Accord and Tobruk-based House of Representatives, pull out of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva. (Al Jazeera)
• North East Delhi riots
  • Violent clashes in New Delhi, India, between Hindu and Muslim protestors over the Citizenship Amendment Act during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit leave 13 people dead and at least 150 injured. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

• Socio-economic impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops more than 3% as the coronavirus outbreak spreads outside China. This follows benchmark indices falling sharply in Europe after steep declines across Asia. (Barrons), (Wall Street Journal)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Iran
    • Armenia has closed its border from Meghri with Iran and suspended all flights from Armenia to Iran for the next two weeks due to increasing cases of coronavirus in Iran. (Prime Minister of Armenia's Facebook page)
    • The General Authority of Oman's Civil Aviation announced the suspension of all flights between the sultanate and the Islamic Republic of Iran until further notice. (CNN)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
    • Seventy-four more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number to 229. Four more virus-related deaths are confirmed, bringing the death toll to seven. (La Repubblica)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
    • Vietnamese airline Bamboo Airways suspends flights to South Korea starting February 26. (CNN)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United States
    • The total number of infected in the United States is now 53 people, up from 34 two days ago. (CNN)
  • Pakistan International Airlines suspends flights to China until March 15. (Geo News)
  • A 300-bed isolation ward has been set up in Islamabad for Chinese citizens returning to Pakistan after vacations. (ARY News)
  • Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Oman and Bahrain confirm their first cases of coronavirus. (Gulf News) (Straits Times) (Fox News)
  • Spain confirms its third case in Tenerife, Canary Islands, from an Italian tourist. (El Periódico)

International relations

• India–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump visits India and meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the sale of American military jets to India. (NPR)(ARY News)

Law and crime

• The United States wants the United Kingdom to extradite WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange, who might face American espionage charges. (NBC News)
• Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane appears in court and hears the charges against him in a pre-trial hearing. He denies involvement in the murder of his former wife and requests immunity from the higher court. (Reuters)
• Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases
  • U.S. film producer Harvey Weinstein is found guilty of rape, and not guilty of predatory sexual assault. (The New York Times)
• The United Kingdom bans Sonnenkrieg Division, the UK branch of the American Neo-Nazi organization Atomwaffen Division, as a terrorist group in response to the Hanau shootings last week. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

• 2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections, Timeline of 2020 Dominican Republic Municipal Election Protests
  • The Organization of American States begins an audit of the suspended elections. (Dominican Today)
  • Protests in Santo Domingo continue for the fifth day. (Dominican Today)
• Politics of Malaysia
  • Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigns. (CNN)

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Portal:Current events/2020 February 23

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel kills two members of Islamic Jihad in an aerial attack near Damascus, Syria. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• The Carnival of Aalst in Belgium goes ahead despite UNESCO withdrawing its recognition of the event as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity because of Jewish caricatures. (Reuters) (newsmonkey)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020 Iran–Turkey earthquakes
  • An earthquake in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, kills at least nine people and injures more than a hundred others. (Daily Sabah)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
    • Seventy-six more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number of the cases in the country to 155. (La Repubblica)
    • A 68-year-old woman dies of coronavirus in Crema, Italy, bringing the number of deaths in the country to three. (Tgcom24)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
    • South Korea confirms that 169 more people have contracted the coronavirus in the country, raising the total number to 602. (BBC)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Iran
    • Pakistan has closed its border from Taftan with Iran due to increasing cases of coronavirus in Iran. (Geo News)
    • Turkey has closed its border with Iran and halted incoming flights due to more cases of coronavirus in Iran. (Reuters)
    • Afghanistan suspended travel between it and Iran and reported three suspected virus cases in Herat. (TRT World)

Politics and elections

• 2020 Comorian legislative election
  • The second round of the latest election in Comoros takes place. The election is still boycotted by the political opposition. (RFI)
• 2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
  • Protests begin in New York and Massachusetts in the United States, Paris in France, Toronto in Canada, Madrid, Navarre, and Barcelona in Spain, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and London in England. (Dominican Today)
  • Protestors demand the Central Electoral Board resign. (Dominican Today)

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Portal:Current events/2020 February 22

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Kashmir conflict
  • Two Kashmiri civilians alleged to be Lashkar-e-Taiba militants are killed by Indian soldiers at Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, in a counter-terrorism operation. (DNA India) (ARY News)
• Five terrorists are killed in Peshawar, Khyber Paktunkhwa, Pakistan, by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in a heavy exchange of fire during a search operation. (Geo News)

Disasters and accidents

• Daredevil and flat Earth conspiracy theorist Mike Hughes dies after crashing in his homemade rocket near Barstow, California. He was attempting to prove the Earth was flat as part of a documentary series with Science Channel. (BBC)

Health and environment

• 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Italy
    • Italy confirms that a 78-year-old man in Padua, Veneto, and a woman in her 70s in Codogno, Lombardy, have died after contracting the virus. They are the first two coronavirus deaths in Italy. (Tgcom24)
    • 58 more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Italy, bringing the number of cases to 79. (Open)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
    • South Korea confirms that 229 more people have contracted the coronavirus in the country, raising the total number to 433. (BBC)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United States
    • The United States reports 34 confirmed cases of the illness and expects more. (The New York Times)
  • 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Asia
    • The first coronavirus case is confirmed in Iraq. (Anadolu Agency)
    • Samoa bans all cruise ships from visiting the country amid growing efforts to keep the virus away. (RNZ)
• France shuts down its first nuclear power reactor, at the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant. (Deutsche Welle)

Law and crime

• Lesotho PM Tom Thabane is granted sick leave until 27 February when he is due to appear in court for the murder of his former wife. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections
  • The Dominican Republic government wants the Organization of American States to investigate what occurred in the controversial February 16 elections. (Dominican Today)
• 2020 Togolese presidential election
  • Voters in Togo head to the polls to elect the country's president. Incumbent president Faure Gnassingbé, accused of an authoritarian rule, seeks to run for a fourth term which was made possible by a constitutional amendment in 2019. (DW)
• 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
  • Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Nevada Caucus. (CNN)